The intent of this FAQ is to provide a viable source of information for people interested in Biomedical Engineering. We wrote it because, every year, the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Tulane University receives hundreds of "What is Biomedical Engineering" inquiries. It is the goal of this FAQ document to answer these questions and provide some resources for additional learning.
This FAQ is intended to provide an in-depth description of what biomedical engineering is, how it is defined, and what resources are available to learn more about biomedical engineering. It is the goal of this FAQ to be a source of knowledge for all to use, from those considering studies in biomedical engineering to the seasoned professional engineer.
The description below is reprinted from the BMEnet Homepage which in turn is reprinted from publications of the Biomedical Engineering Society and the American Society for Engineering.
Education
"Biomedical engineering combines engineering expertise with medical needs for the enhancement of health care. It is a branch of engineering in which knowledge and skills are developed and applied to define and solve problems in biology and medicine. Students choose the biomedical engineering field to be of service to people; for the excitement of working with living systems; and to apply advanced technology to the complex problems of medical care. The biomedical engineer is a health care professional, a group which includes physicians, nurses, and technicians. Biomedical engineers may be called upon to design instruments and devices, to bring together knowledge from many sources to develop new procedures, or to carry out research to acquire knowledge needed to solve new problems."
Specific Activities
Examples of work done by biomedical engineers include:
4a. What is "bioengineering" and is it the same as "biomedical engineering"?
The term "bioengineering" (used interchangeably with "biomedical engineering") describes a wide range of activities in which the disciplines of engineering and the biological or medical science intersect. Representative examples of the work that biomedical engineers do are listed above. There are several other fields that partially interested with the discipline of biomedical engineering, or that are subfields. They are described in the following sections.
4b. What is agricultural engineering?
Agricultural engineering includes appropriate areas of mechanical, electrical, environmental, and civil engineering, construction technology, hydraulics, and soil mechanics.
The use of mechanized power and machinery on the farm has increased greatly throughout the world, fourfold in the United States since 1930. Research in energy use, fluid power, machinery development, laser and microprocessor control for maintaining grain quality, and farm structures is expected to result in further gains in efficiency with which food and fiber are produced and processed.
Agricultural production presents many engineering problems and opportunities. Agricultural operations — soil conservation and preparation; crop cultivation and harvesting; animal production; and commodities transportation, processing, packaging, and storage — are precision operations involving large tonnage's, heavy power, and critical factors of time and place. Facilities designed to aid farm operations help farm workers to minimize the time and energy requirements of routine jobs.
Four primary branches have developed within agricultural engineering, based on the problems encountered. Farm power and machinery engineering is concerned with advances in farm mechanization — tractors, field machinery, and other mechanical equipment. Farm structures engineering studies the problems of providing shelter for animals and human beings, crop storage, and other special-purpose facilities. Soil and water control engineering deals with soil drainage, irrigation, conservation, hydrology, and flood control. Electric power and processing engineering is concerned with the distribution of electric power on the farm and its application to a variety of uses, such as lighting to control plant growth and certain animal production operations."
[Britannica Online 1996]
4c. What is rehabilitation engineering?
"In rehabilitation engineering, technology is employed to replace or augment some physical function that is impaired or missing." [Smith 1990] Rehabilitation engineering is a newly evolving term which entails the design, construction, and implementation of devices which assists individuals in overcoming disabilities. Rehabilitation engineers must be able to "devise strategies to help people 'overcome' limitations." [Smith 1990] The rehabilitation engineer must also be able to "train individuals with impairments to minimize their functional limitations." [Smith 1990] The rehabilitation engineer must have extensive knowledge of the human body so as to gauge the needs and limitations of the client. The rehabilitation engineer must be able to construct assist devices which rely upon undamaged or partially damaged sensory systems to complete a desired task. Applications of rehabilitation engineering include:
4d. What is clinical engineering?
The term clinical engineering, first developed at George Washington University in 1967, has come to mean an engineer, working in a health care delivery environment, who draws upon mathematics, physics, statistics, and the applied sciences to solve problems in the medical field. The clinical engineer is an application than theoretical. The clinical engineer must be able to:
[Caceres 1977]
4e. What is genetic engineering?
The term genetic engineering is "used to describe the activities of biologist, biochemist, microbiologist, and medical research workers. [Kammermeyer 1989] Genetic engineering in its real sense means the synthetic preparation of composite molecules in which foreign DNA has been inserted into a vector molecule (bacteria, virus, etc.)" [Kammermeyer 1989] "Genetic engineering includes cloning DNA by microbial enzymes called endonucleases, splicing or recombining fragments of DNA, inserting eucaryotic DNA into bacteria so that large quantities of the foreign genetic material can be produced, determining nucleotide sequence of a segment of DNA." [Britannica 1994a] Achievements of genetic engineering include:
[Kammermeyer 1989]
4f. What is biomedical equipment and technology (BMET)?
As a generalization, engineers are people who design new systems and devices, and technicians are people who build, install, and maintain them. In a typical hospital there are thousands of complex electronic and mechanical devices used to assist physicians, nurses, and therapists in caring for patients. Examples include respirators, cardiac monitors, imaging systems, and incubators. Hospitals hire people trained in equipment repair and installation to keep their technological facilities in good working order. The job requirements for these Biomedical Equipment Technicians are a 2-year college degree (Associate of Science), good mechanical skills, and an internship for on-the-job experience. A 4-year degree in engineering is not necessary to obtain a job as a Biomedical Equipment Technician (BMET) in a hospital. But some larger medical centers also hire a Clinical Engineer to oversee the entire technological infrastructure of the hospital, supervise the BMETs doing repair work, and integrate new equipment into existing clinical facilities. A B.S. or M.S. degree in engineering is needed to become a Clinical Engineer.
"Medical physics is a branch of physics, it is also a branch of medicine…combining the technical challenges and pleasures of physics with a strong component of service to people." [Frey 1995] Medical physicists differ from basic physicists in two aspects. The first "is being able to work with the sick and dying — from very old to very young" [Tolbert 1996] The second aspect is in the pursuit of solution to problems. In basic physics, if failure occurs, "the experimenter replaces the burned-out components in the circuit, introduces new discrimination in the circuit…In medical physics, however, the solution is literally pursued life-or-death consequence. The safety of the tried and tested is not only preferred, but required." [Tolbert 1996] "The medical physics profession is split into six major sub-specialties: radiation therapy physics, diagnostic imaging physics, magnetic resonance imaging physics, radiation safety and health physics, nuclear medicine physics, and other applications of physics in medicine, for example, hypothermia and photo-dynamic therapy." [Podgorsak 1995]
Printed sources of information
[American Society For Engineering Education]
In the 1995 edition, sixteen universities are listed as having accredited undergraduate biomedical programs. Though this is not as comprehensive volume as the on-line publications, it is a valuable resource to those without access to the Internet.
[Peterson 1996a]
[Peterson 1996b]
Sources on the Internet
"The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) is primarily responsible for monitoring, evaluating, and certifying the quality of engineering, engineering technology, and engineering-related education in colleges and universities in the United States. ABET develops accreditation policies and criteria and conducts a comprehensive program of evaluation of degree programs. Programs that meet the prescribed criteria are granted accredited status. ABET participates in general areas of higher education, especially those that impact on the engineering profession. ABET initiates and sponsors studies, conferences, and seminars, and co-sponsors projects in cooperation with organizations with common interests."
[URL http://www.abet.ba.md.us/ABET.html]
There are three national sources of graduate fellowship support. These awards can be used at any university, and the competition for them is intense. Anyone considering graduate study in biomedical engineering, particularly towards the doctorate, is urged to apply for National Science Foundation (NSF), Whitaker Foundation, and Tau Beta Pi graduate fellowships.
Applications for the NSF fellowship may be secured from:
NSF Fellowship Office
Oak Ridge Associated Universities
Box 3010
Oak Ridge, TN 37831-3010
Applications for Tau Beta Pi fellowships are available from:
Tau Beta Pi
Box 2697
Knoxville, TN 37901-2697
A small amount of need-based financial aid is available, via on-campus financial aid offices, through Federally subsidized loans. The American Society for Engineering Education's ENG-LOANS program provides funding above these amounts.
The American Society for Engineering Education
11 Dupont Circle
Washington, DC 20036
Resource available on the Internet
There are several resource available on the Internet to apply for grant funding. Some of these organizations are specific to biomedical funding, while others are geared towards the sciences in general.
"The Whitaker Foundation offers several areas of biomedical engineering grant programs.
"The NIH's mission is to uncover new knowledge that will lead to better health for everyone. NIH works toward that mission by conducting research in its own laboratories; supporting the research of non-Federal scientists in universities, medical schools, hospitals, and research institutions throughout the country and abroad; helping in the training of research investigators; and fostering communication of biomedical information. Simply described, the goal of NIH research is to acquire new knowledge to help prevent, detect, diagnose, and treat disease and disability, from the rarest genetic disorder to the common cold."
The National Science Foundation
"The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the U.S. Government, established by the National Science Foundation Act of 1950…The Act established the NSF's mission: To promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; and to secure the national defense."
Other sources of grant funding available for biomedical projects are:
All of these resources are available through the Community of Science Web Server.
The Biomedical Engineering Society: For membership, contact Rita Schaffer.
Biomedical Engineering Society
8401 Corporate Dr.
Suite 140
Landover, MD 20785-2224
info@bmes.org
The IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (IEEE-EMBS) is a society dedicated to melding the of engineering and mathematics with medicine and biology. The EMBS is the largest professional organization dedicated to the advancement of biomedical engineering. For more information on EMBS Chapters:
(URL http://www.ewh.ieee.org/embs/student/index.htm)
The American Institute For Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) is a society dedicated to the advancement of medical and biological engineering through the increase of public knowledge. AIMBE seeks to improve relations between the government, industry, and professional organizations in order to promote engineering in medicine and biology.
(URL http://fairway.ecn.purdue.edu/bme/societies/AIMBE/aimbe.html)
Several news groups exist on the Internet which deal with issues pertaining to biomedical engineering. Some deal with topics pertaining areas of specific interest, while others deal with topics such as biomedical ethics.
Medical Electronics Products
2294 W. Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15216
bcirc@mac-med.com
IEEE-Engineering in Medicine and Biology Magazine
345 East 47th Street, New York, NY 10017
Medical Electronics & Equipment News
532 Busse Highway, Park Ridge, IL 60068-3194
Journal of Biotechnology
Journal of Electrical Technology
Chemical & Engineering News
1155-16th Street N.W., Washington, DC 20036
Journal of Engineering Mechanics
Design News
Cahners Publishing Co.,Editorial Offices, 275 Washington Street, Newton, MA 02158
Optical Engineering
Medical Engineering & Physics (formerly Journal of Biomedical Engineering)
Elsevier Science Inc., 660 White Plains Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591-5153
Chemtech
American Chemical Society, 1155-16th Street N.W., Washington, DC 20036
BMEnet. "A Career In Biomedical Engineering"
Available: http://fairway.ecn.purdue.edu
Directory: /~ieeeembs/
Filename: biocareer.html
Caceres, Cesar A. (1977). The Practice of Clinical Engineering. New York: Academic Press
American Society For Engineering Education. (1994) Directory of Engineering & Engineering Technology: Undergraduate Programs. Washington DC: ASEE Publications
Hale, Dr. Paul N., Jr. (1994). "Biomedical Engineering Academic Program Annual Report 1994"
Available: http://fairway.ecn.purdue.edu/
Directory: bme/academic/
Filename: grand.html
Peterson's Guides, Inc. (1995). "Peterson's Listing of Undergraduate Biomedical Programs"
Available: http://www.petersons.com/
Directory: ugrad/select/
Filename: u4majors.html
Peterson's Guides, Inc. (1995). "Peterson's Listing of Graduate Biomedical Engineering Programs"
Available: http://www.petersons.com/
Directory: graduate/select/
Filename: 504005se.html
BMEnet. "Other Biomedical Engineering Programs"
Available: http://fairway.ecn.purdue.edu/
Directory: bme/academic/
Filename: acadold.html
BMEnet. "The Whitaker Foundation"
Available: http://fairway.ecn.purdue.edu
Directory: bme/whitaker/
Filename: fellanc.html
Community of Science Web Server. "The NIH Grants Database"
Available: http://cos.gdb.org/
Directory: /best/fedfund/
Filename: nih-intro.html
National Science Foundation. "The National Science Foundation"
Available: http://www.nsf.gov/
Directory: bfa/cpo/
Filename: start.html
Community of Science Web Server
Available: http://cos.gdb.org/
Directory: /
Filname:
MEDMarket. "MEDMarket Healthcare Manufacturing Industry Index"
Available: http://web.frontier.net/
Directory: MEDMarket/indexes/
Filename: indexmfr.html BMES
"The Biomedical Engineering Society"
Available: http://isdl.ee.washington.edu/
Directory: ?AMBE/
Filename: bmes.html
IEEE-EMBS. "IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society"
Available: http://www.bae.ncsu.edu/bae/
Directory: courses/bae465/
Filename: embs.html
Frey, G. Donald. (1995) Medical Physics Profession Faces Growth Limits.Physics Today. 11.
Tolbert, Don. (1996) Medical Physics Is a Demanding Profession. Physics Today. 13-15
Electric Differential Multimedia Lab
Available: http://indy.radiology.uiowa.edu/
Directory: Patients/PatientDept/RadiologyBrochures/MR/
Filename: MRISheet.html
Podgorsak, M.B. "Medical Physics Jobs: What's the Prognosis?"
Available: http://www.physics.georgetown.edu
Directory: /
Filename: Premedlet1.html
Robinson, A.L. "A Board-Certified Physicist in Radiation Therapy"
Available: http://magus.physics.georgetown.edu/
Directory: ~jkf/carhart/
Filename: Premedlet2.html
Smith, R.V. & Leslie, Hohn H. (1990) Rehabilitation Engineering. Boca Raton: CRC Press
Kammermeyer, Karl & Clark, Virginia L. (1989) Genetic Engineering Fundamentals: An Introduction to Principles and Applications, New York: Marcel Dekker Inc.
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Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tulane University. All Rights Reserved.